The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 22, 2006
Filed:
Jul. 27, 2001
Alexander Gibson Fraser, Bernardsville, NJ (US);
Alexander Gibson Fraser, Bernardsville, NJ (US);
Fraser Research, Inc., Bernardsville, NJ (US);
Abstract
An improved method of addressing devices in a local area network is disclosed. A small plug-in tag may be added to each device on the network. The tag is given an easily remembered name provided by the user. In addition the tag can be given a pictorial icon which can be represented by a moderate number of bits. The name and the optional icon may be visible on a label on the tag. The tag contains a chip with a small memory into which the name and optionally the bit map representation of the icon is entered. In addition, an optional unique identifier may be entered. Pins on the tag are connected to the device which has its own network address, such as an Ethernet address. Optionally, the network address may be copied into the unique identifier, or the unique identifier may be copied into the network address. The use of the tag permits easy configuration and reconfiguration of the network. The invention is particularly applicable in home or small office networks where computer-knowledgeable persons are not available to perform configuration functions.